ELI5, why do problematic flights require a fighter jet escort?

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What could a fighter jet do if a plane goes rogue in a terrorism situation. Surely they can’t push the plane in a certain direction to prevent them causing harm the plane is too big and that’s a recipe for disaster all round. Shooting the plane down has its own complications especially if flying over populated area.

What could they actually do in a code red situation?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

To shoot the plane down. Sure, it could cause problems if shot down over a populated area, but most areas aren’t populated much less densely. And as we saw from 9/11 what would be worse – a plane being shot down and destroying and damaging a few houses, or hitting a building with thousands of people in it?

Plus having someone that could take you down at any second COULD (unlikely but possible) exert additional pressure on the terrorists such that they might decide to back down.

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